


On Wings of Hope and Faith

by estelraca



Category: Kamen Rider Decade
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Multi, Post-Canon, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelraca/pseuds/estelraca
Summary: They find Yuusuke, but not fast enough to stop this new iteration of Shocker from doing experiments they shouldn't have.  At least Yuusuke looks really good with wings.
Relationships: Hikari Natsumi/Kadoya Tsukasa/Kaitou Daiki/Onodera Yuusuke
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16
Collections: Another Toku Holiday Special (2020)





	On Wings of Hope and Faith

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jen425](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen425/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this! I had a great time writing it for you. Happy holidays!

_On Wings of Hope and Faith_

Kaitou is the one who finds him first.

Which is not the way it should be. Kaitou is not prepared to handle matters like this. Kaitou is the one who cuts and runs, who doesn't face the consequences of what's happened. He knows that about himself, and so do the others. It's not something he can change—not something he _wants_ to change, not usually.

It's how he keeps himself safe.

But the skills that let him run also let him slip by their enemies. They let him tread down these corridors that glow blood red in the emergency lights that have been set off.

They let him find the laboratory first, where a computer is screaming CONTAINMENT BREACH, CONTAINMENT BREACH in a voice that is too calm for the horror that it is espousing.

Kaitou doesn't know what he expected from Zen Neo Fucking Whatever Sequel DaiShocker branch this is. Something horrible, because that's what Apollo Geist does. Something Kaitou would hate, because when has he _not_ hated what Daishocker does? Even when he was at his lowest, following Tsukasa because at least Tsukasa the Great Leader hadn't been _cruel_ , hadn't hid his intentions to be a world-conquering megalomaniac, Kaitou hadn't liked DaiShocker.

He's pretty sure he hates them even more now as the walls of the cell they were using to keep Yuusuke contained bend and _melt_ , disintegrating under the pressure of Yuusuke's power.

He has wings now.

It's the first, utterly incongruous thought Kaitou has as he watches Yuusuke lurch from the wreckage of his prison like some horrible zombie from a B movie. Yuusuke has wings made of flame and flickering shadow, and they're absolutely beautiful.

The armor that dances around Yuusuke's form is blacker than black, a hole into which reality wants to sink and be smothered.

Kaitou forces himself to draw a breath, forces his finger to curl around the trigger of DienDriver. He should run. This is so far beyond him, beyond what he can hope to manage—he should run.

He can't leave Yuusuke here, like this.

He can't leave the others here with Yuusuke, because he _knows_ they won't run. Natsumi will see it as her duty to save Yuusuke, to right this wrong; Tsukasa with see Yuusuke as _his_ , and anyone trying to claim what's his is in for a rude reckoning that will likely end in either acute embarrassment or death or both.

Yuusuke sees him. Kaitou knows because the head turns towards him, mouth opening, tongue flicking out like a snakes'.

Yuusuke sees him, and if this is the way he dies Kaitou is going to be _very_ irritated.

“Yuusuke.” Kaitou doesn't fire DienDriver. The card he has loaded will bend the dimensions around him, hiding him from anyone's view or touch. Will it be enough to keep him from this monster that Shocker has made of one of his lovers? “Yuusuke, it's me.”

Yuusuke takes a step forward, and Kaitou has to drag in another breath, his skin feeling too hot and tight. The world they're on is cold; the climate of this lab is practically frigid; standing here, four body lengths away from Yuusuke, Kaitou feels as though he's stepped into a steam oven.

_Run._

The thought beats in his head along with the pattering thud of his heart. If he doesn't run, the hunter—for that is what Yuusuke is right now, a _hunter—_ is going to catch him. He is going to die.

Will running work? Kaitou has never met someone who could catch him when he goes invisible. But he has never seen anything like what Yuusuke is right now, either.

“Yuusuke.” The name is a plea and a prayer to gods Kaitou doesn't believe in. “Please. I... I don't want to leave you behind.” The _again_ doesn't need to be said. Kaitou has already run from Yuusuke when his power was not in his control.

Yuusuke pauses. His head tilts, though Kaitou's not sure if there's recognition on his face. He knows what Yuusuke's face looks like when he's there and _fighting_ and when he's just _gone_. He should be able to tell now. It's so hard to see, though, because Yuusuke's armor keeps flickering in and out of existence, shadows sweeping over his features and then being burned away in bursts of fire.

“You know you don't want to be like this.” Kaitou doesn't allow his finger to relax on the trigger, ready to fire if he needs to, but he also doesn't let it tighten. “You're _not_ like this. You're our friend, and we can help you.”

Sometimes this is enough. Sometimes Yuusuke's strange physiology and practice with being psychically assaulted means that a little bit of pressure in the right place will snap him free.

Sometimes it won't. Sometimes Natsumi begs him to come back and Yuusuke can't and it haunts both of them for months, nightmares that made Kaitou actually hate Tsukasa just a little bit for just a little while.

“Yuusuke.”

Think of the devil and he will appear. Tsukasa strides into the room, Decade's armor falling away to reveal a bruised and bloody body beneath. Tsukasa doesn't seem to notice that he's injured, though, sauntering forward as if this room and everything in it belongs to him.

Because in his mind, of course, it _does_.

Yuusuke's eyes immediately turn to Tsukasa. Tsukasa is the more dangerous predator, after all, though it irks Kaitou to admit it even in his thoughts. Tsukasa is also the one batshit insane enough to just _walk towards Yuusuke_ while he's like this, Tsukasa's swagger not even a little slowed.

Yuusuke's eyes widen, black pits in his shadowed face. He straightens, leaning a little away.

Tsukasa doesn't slow. He doesn't hesitate. He just keeps walking, and then he's reaching out to put his arms around Yuusuke's neck.

Natsumi is standing frozen by Kaitou. Kivala is huddled against her neck, the little bat-creature not looking at the scene before them. Natsumi's hands are frozen, one over her mouth, one reaching towards Tsukasa and Yuusuke.

She is smart enough to know that you don't just walk towards a monster, even if that monster was your friend.

She is crazy enough to want to trust Yuusuke, to want to follow Tsukasa.

For long, drawn-out seconds Kaitou doesn't know which way things are going to go. He doesn't know if he's going to have to grab Natsumi and try to disappear them both, to make them vanish into the silver that flows between worlds. He doesn't know if this is where Tsukasa dies—and where Yuusuke dies with him, because Kaitou doubts they will ever get Yuusuke back if he kills Tsukasa.

Then Yuusuke shudders, his eyes closing. The shadows stop flickering quite so fast, the temperature in the room dropping ten degrees or so.

Natsumi darts forward as soon as that happens, joining Tsukasa. She has to shove him to the side a bit, but she, too, wraps her arms around Yuusuke. She starts whispering into his ear, familiar bits of comfort and encouragement.

Kaitou breathes a little easier, lowering his gun to his side. He doesn't take his finger off the trigger until the shadows are only the vaguest flicker in the hollows of Yuusuke's eyes, in the depths that hadn't been beneath his cheekbones when last they saw him.

He wasn't gone for that long. Just ten days since he was sold to the highest bidder, traded away by the people he was trying to help.

A lot can happen in ten days.

Kaitou walks over to the little huddle that is all he cares about in all the worlds. He holsters the DienDriver, reaching out to touch Yuusuke's shoulder.

Reaching _behind_ Yuusuke to graze his fingers over one of the wings. The feathers are a deep red mixed with the occasional black one now that Yuusuke has stopped threatening to transform into a force of absolute chaos and death.

Yuusuke startles, wings rising, feathers fluffing up. His eyes open, and when they focus on Kaitou they are very much _Yuusuke's_ eyes, caring and compassionate even after all that he's been through.

“These are nice.” Kaitou stretches his hand out slowly, his fingers ghosting just above the new wings, watching Yuusuke's eyes for signs that he doesn't want this.

Yuusuke's brow furrows, but it's a considering expression rather than a concerned one. His wings fluff up again, the feathers brushing against Kaitou's fingers without Kaitou having to do anything.

They're soft. Are feathers supposed to be this soft?

“They're...” Yuusuke shivers, and his eyes close again. “They're pulled from... from the Greeed, I think.”

Tsukasa's eyes narrow. “What, from _Ankh_?”

Yuusuke nods. “I heard them... when they were... deciding what to do. Apparently Eiji looking for ways to bring Ankh back led to a lot of Greeed technology being easy to get their hands on...”

Kaitou trails his fingers down the edge of one of Yuusuke's wings. “What were they trying to do?”

Yuusuke's lips twitch into a faint, bitter smile. “What are they ever trying to do?”

Tsukasa tightens his grip on Yuusuke. “I'm going to murder them all.”

“That's not...” Yuusuke draws a shuddering breath. “I don't...”

“You might not care about revenge.” Kaitou leans in to press a kiss just above Yuusuke's ear before whispering into it. “But you care about protecting people, and two of _us_ care about revenge. Let us have it.”

The shadows start flickering around Yuusuke again, and he reaches out, one hand pulling Natsumi tight to his body, one hand fisting in Tsukasa's shirt, and his wing flashing out to gather Kaitou under his feathers.

The feathers smell like Yuusuke. It's a familiar scent, warm bread and sharp wind and a hint of fire and ash.

“Don't.” Yuusuke's word is a soft, pleading whisper. “Not now. I can't—I need—I'm _hungry_.”

Of course he is. The Greeed are creatures of want, creatures of deep, unrelenting need. Kaitou doubts that DaiShocker would care about that when they implanted their technology in an unwilling host.

“What do you need?” Natsumi leans in, pressing her lips to Yuusuke's, running her fingers through his too-long hair.

Yuusuke sighs, and his whole body relaxes, the death-grips he has on the three of them fading. “You. All of you. And to be _me_. I need to be me so badly right now.”

“You are.” Tsukasa leans down to kiss Yuusuke when Natsumi is done, and he isn't restrained in it, pressing Yuusuke's face hard against his. “You are _ours_ , and you are going to be _fine_.”

“We'll go home.” Natsumi massages at Yuusuke's neck. “We'll have Grandfather make the biggest feast, with all of your favorite foods. We'll go somewhere nice. Maybe... maybe to Godai-san's world.”

Yuusuke whines, an animal sound of dismay. “I don't... think... that would be good right now.”

Kaitou brushes feathers out of his face, nuzzling against the side of Yuusuke's neck, using his position against Yuusuke's back to wrap an arm around his waist. “Then we'll wait until it would be. We'll go find Eiji, see if he knows anything that can help.”

“Home first.” Yuusuke holds them tight again. “I just... I need some time.”

That might not be all he needs. That's the problem with being a super-powered super-experiment. There aren't many precedents to use to gauge what the future will bring.

“If you're sure.” Natsumi elbows Tsukasa to the side so that she can kiss Yuusuke again.

Kaitou just continues to nuzzle into Yuusuke's neck, enjoying the feel of Yuusuke's feathers draped around him, the warmth of Yuusuke's wing pressing against his neck and shoulders.

“Halt!” The scientist who skids into the room has a weapon—a variation on DienDriver, Kaitou sees as he peers over Yuusuke's shoulder and between Natsumi and Tsukasa's bodies. “You—all of you—what are you doing with the weapon?”

Kaitou doesn't have a clean shot between his people. That's the only reason he doesn't shoot the idiot right then and there, his obvious utter confusion be damned.

Tsukasa doesn't bother to turn around. “You have five seconds to go, or I'm going to kill you. Because if I don't, Yuusuke will when you do something stupid, and I don't want him to have to deal with that. You know I'll kill you, don't you? You know what kind of Great Leader DaiShocker raised.”

Yuuske releases his hold on Tsukasa's shirt, reaching up instead to touch Tsukasa's face. “Yes,” Yuusuke whispers.

Kaitou lifts DienDriver, eyeing their potential enemy.

The man assesses the situation again, starts to take a step forward... and cuts and runs at the first sign of Tsukasa turning towards him.

“Home.” Natsumi turns to Tsukasa.

Tsukasa nods.

Kaitou reluctantly slips his way free of Yuusuke's wing.

Yuusuke turns, reaching for Kaitou with the hand that had been holding onto Natsumi.

He doesn't let go of Tsukasa, of course. Yuusuke knows, even damaged body and mind, which people he can trust to stay and which he needs to grasp tight.

“I need to finish here.” Kaitou gestures around at the lab. “We can't leave them with whatever notes they have on you.”

The shadows start flickering faster around Yuusuke again, the temperature beginning to climb to uncomfortable levels once more. Yuusuke's wings flare out, and Kaitou's breath catches in his throat. Something so deadly shouldn't be so utterly beautiful, so strangely _profound_.

 _Be not afraid._ That's what angels are supposed to say, isn't it? If angels look anything like Yuusuke does right now, Kaitou knows why that would be the first thing they would want to say.

Not that angels are real. Not that Yuusuke is an angel. He's just a man—a man who doesn't like carrots, who steals the covers off a bed because even on the warmest night he gets cold, who trusts and trusts and _trusts_ even when it ends like this again and again and again.

“Come home fast.” Yuusuke's words are hoarse, his hand clenching into a fist before he returns his grip to Natsumi's shirt.

“So fast you won't even miss me. You know I like stealing all the dessert.” Kaitou blows Yuusuke a kiss, and then sends Natsumi a kiss and a wink as well.

He doesn't send Tsukasa a kiss. He and Tsukasa are too much on the same wavelength here. Instead they lock eyes for a minute, and Kaitou knows that the only reason Tsukasa isn't staying to do this is because Tsukasa can do things for Yuusuke that Kaitou can't.

The silver wall that wraps around them is there and gone in the blink of an eye. Kaitou stares at the place where his family stood for several long seconds before training DienDriver on the computer that's still yelling about a CONTAINMENT BREACH and silencing it once and for all.

Then he begins systematically, meticulously destroying every scrap of technical tool and ill-gotten information that he can get his hands on.

It doesn't take him long. Destruction is easy, and he is very good at it. It's all the practice. Once you've burned down your own life somewhere between two and four times, burning down other people's lives becomes child's play.

Only when the entire lab is in ruins does Kaitou holster his weapon and summon the shimmering curtain that will bring him back to the photo studio.

Back to Tsukasa and Natsumi and Yuusuke.

Back to a home-cooked meal, which is the most ridiculous thing for a thief to get on a regular basis, but since when does the multiverse care about being ridiculous?

Yuusuke is lying on the floor of the living room, his wings stretched out to either side of him. Natsumi and Tsukasa are examining them, one hand each on Yuusuke's back, one buried in the softness of Yuusuke's feathers. The smell of cooking is just starting to permeate the studio.

Yuusuke looks better, here. He's still too thin, and he's still got _wings_ , but there isn't any sign of the flickering shadows. His face looks practically peaceful as he lifts his head to smile at Kaitou. “Welcome home.”

“It's only been twenty minutes since you last saw me.” Kaitou moves towards the trio anyway. What else is he going to do? Where else is he going to go?

He didn't run earlier. It would just look stupid to run now.

Instead he stalks over to where Yuusuke is lying down, hunkering on his heels in front of the ridiculous, beautiful man who somehow stole a piece of Kaitou's heart. “You doing all right?”

Yuusuke considers the question, then gives a slow nod. “I will be, I think. If you guys can be patient with me.”

Kaitou reaches out, grasping Yuusuke's face firmly in his right hand. Then he leans down and kisses him soundly, the same type of deep, claiming kiss Tsukasa had used earlier. “We were willing to burn down a world to save you. I think we can be a little patient while you figure out how to fly.”

Yuusuke's eyes widen. “Do you think I can fly with these?”

“Only one way to find out.” Kaitou backs up, giving Yuusuke space to maneuver his changed body into a sitting position without whacking anyone in the face with a wing.

He could say that Yuusuke always flies. He could say that Yuusuke has been flying high while Kaitou and Tsukasa stumble about in quicksand. It would be true, in a way, but it wouldn't be the _whole_ truth.

Because Yuusuke never wants to fly alone. He always wants to bring others with him. And sometimes those others drag him down to the ground, just for a little bit.

Sometimes those others leave him to burn in fire.

But always Yuusuke clambers back up into the sky, and always he reaches down to help someone else up. It just might be a little more literal now.

Kaitou would never say any of this out loud, of course. It's not the type of thing he _can_ say, and he's not sure it's the type of thing Yuusuke would even want to hear.

 _I'm just being myself._ Kaitou can hear Yuusuke's words without him having to say them. With, perhaps, a side dish of _Help me be myself_ right now, because who knows what they did to him while they were grafting wings onto his already-inhuman body.

So Kaitou won't say anything weird. He'll just be himself, fulfilling his role in their strange but functional group dynamic, and he'll watch.

If he watches his friends for long enough, maybe one day he, too, will figure out the trick of flying without wings.

And if he doesn't... if he doesn't, he knows he'll still enjoy watching Yuusuke fly, even when it hurts his heart to see what's possible in this wide, vast, terrible, wonderful world of theirs.


End file.
